No Holds Barred
by Makeste
Summary: In which Gokudera and Yamamoto have a shounen throwdown, and Yamamoto really needs to think less and fight more. 8059...ish.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or any of its characters or crazy shounen fighting moves.

**Notes: **Written for Round 1 of KHR Fest on Livejournal; the prompt was _Yamamoto/Gokudera - "You won't have to hold back with me that's for sure." _Contains a leeetle bit of slash toward the end, and there are spoilers through chapter 247 of the manga.

NOW ON TO THE VIOLENCE.

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**No Holds Barred**

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Yamamoto's not sure if the problem is he's thinking too much, or too little. Usually, the former is something he doesn't have to worry about. Yamamoto is one of those people who doesn't think much; he just _does_. Goes with his instincts, because they're usually not wrong. 'This feels right; I'll do it.' And most of the time, those feelings don't let him down.

It only sometimes gets more complicated when he's around Gokudera. Because with Gokudera, when he acts on his instincts, sometimes the other boy gets mad. A lot of times, actually. Being around him, Yamamoto gets the urge to do lots of things, because Gokudera is someone he likes. So he leans on him, and he teases him, and he laughs. (He laughs a lot, because Gokudera is pretty hilarious.) But Gokudera doesn't always take kindly to these shows of affection, which is another way of saying that in exchange for his friendliness, Yamamoto receives a lot of death threats.

So sometimes, when he's around Gokudera, Yamamoto finds that he does have to think things through, a little. He can't always act. Sometimes he has to hold back. It's a weird feeling, something he's not used to, and it almost feels like lying at times, but of course he's not. He's just considering cause and effect beforehand.

He's not always sure this is a good thing, but it does help to keep him out of trouble. He knows this because those few times he _does_ act without thinking around Gokudera, the results tend to blow up in his face.

That was what happened when Gokudera challenged him to a fight, and Yamamoto said yes. Just smiled and said, "Sure!" without thinking about it at all, because it was Gokudera, and it was a _fight_, and the idea excited him terrifically. He'd never trained against Gokudera before, and already he was picturing it in his mind, his Shigure Souen Ryu against Gokudera's Sistema C.A.I., and had a pretty good idea that it was going to _kick ass_.

But in his excitement, he'd forgotten to consider how competitive both he and Gokudera could be, and that Gokudera sometimes had a habit of taking things like this seriously. Too seriously. Making it more than just a simple sparring match for fun; making it into something more personal, a test of his own competence, something he had to win, no matter what. He'd forgotten that to Gokudera, a loss was not just a loss, but a failure. That in his mind, the stakes for something like this could easily rise much, much higher than what they ought to be. Left to his own devices, he could turn even a friendly training match into a judgment of his worth as a person.

Yamamoto had forgotten all that, and now he's wondering if maybe this was such a great idea after all. Because in all honesty, he has no clue what Gokudera's motives were for challenging him to a fight in the first place. Whether it _was_ just for fun, or whether he has some grudge that Yamamoto doesn't know about. Maybe he should be taking this seriously too.

Or maybe he _is_ just thinking too much, and he should relax and let his instincts start doing the thinking for him again.

All of this debate is going on in the back of his mind, and meanwhile Gokudera is standing across from him on the other side of the roof (he's not sure _what_ roof, just a roof; Gokudera had led him unceremoniously to the building and up the stairs and said, "We're going to do it here," and that had been that), his arms folded impatiently as he regards his opponent with one eyebrow half-raised.

"You ready, Baseball Freak?"

And Yamamoto has run out of time; whether he likes it or not, this is what's happening, and it's too late to back out now. And maybe he doesn't quite want to, after all.

He reaches back, draws Shigure Kintoki, and smiles.

"Whenever you are."

The roof explodes in red and blue flames, and for better or worse, the battle begins.

Yamamoto activates his box weapon, watches Kojirou soar into the air, and waits for Gokudera to make the first move. Having activated a number of the boxes on his belt, Gokudera is now surrounded by floating black hoops made of bone, and seems to be waiting for Yamamoto in turn. For a few moments, there's a stalemate where they simply stare at each other. Then Gokudera smirks.

"Scared?"

"Just waiting, is all," Yamamoto protests. "I've never seen those," he indicates the floating hoops, "in action before."

Gokudera grins—and Yamamoto can't help but grin too, it's so rare to see the expression on the other's face—and braces his left arm with his right, the skull gun mounted on it gleaming dangerously. "If you insist."

And without further preamble, he fires, a narrow jet of red flame. It's his basic attack, simple enough to defend against, but Yamamoto knows Gokudera, and isn't about to take any chances. Kojirou swoops down, dousing the roof with rain flames, and Yamamoto swings his sword forward and around in an upward arc, scooping the flames up and over him. _Shigure Souen Ryu… Second Defensive Form: Surging Rain_.

The instant the columns of rain flame are shielding him, he dashes to the side, using the cover to get out of the way—he doesn't want to be in the same place once the flames fade, lest Gokudera be waiting, ready to hit him with a second attack. Yamamoto emerges near the side of the roof, and immediately turns back to where Gokudera had been standing a moment earlier, thinking to try and sneak up on him… but Gokudera is no longer there.

He's barely registered that fact when he hears a sort of high-pitched energy whir over his shoulder, and whips around to see Gokudera directly behind _him_, standing atop one of his hovering shields. He fires again, and this time missile-shaped blasts emerge from the barrel of his weapon. Yamamoto leaps back, preparing to dodge, but then the missiles start to loop around in irregular patterns. _Shit_…

Swinging Shigure Kintoki around him again, Yamamoto sweeps up another spiral of rain flames to defend himself. _Seventh Defensive Form: Spraying Rain_. The twisting flames form a cloud-shaped barrier, not a moment too soon. Gokudera's missile flames explode all around; Yamamoto's defense just barely holds.

Squinting through the smoke and the spray, Yamamoto can see Gokudera still hovering in front of him. He shifts into a stance, bringing his sword down into an attacking position. He's going to have to do something to change the flow of this battle; if he stays on the defensive, he's going to lose, and fast.

That's when the bone shield smashes into him from the side.

He's instantly thrown off balance, but what stuns him the most is the sharp, dazzling pain that lances viciously up his right arm. It doesn't just feel like an impact; it's like his sword arm is on fire for a moment. _Of course_, he thinks almost chidingly, _those hoops were reinforced with storm flames, after all_. And he's just learned something about storm flames today—they _hurt_. For an instant, despite the immediate threat before him, the pain is all he can think about.

It's all the distraction Gokudera needs to finish his slew of assaults with a third blast from his skull-mounted weapon. This time a solid green and red flame surges toward Yamamoto—a lightning/storm combination, he figures. Kojirou swoops in front of him, trailing a wave of rain flames in his wake, and Yamamoto does his best to pull Shigure Kintoki up into a defensive position, but other than that he has no defense at all; there's just no time to react.

The blast slams into him, dulled slightly by the effect of Kojirou's tranquility flames, but otherwise having lost none of their impact, and Yamamoto is hurled into the side of the roof, _hard_. And even as more pain shoots through him, he can't help laughing, because _wow_, he couldn't have predicted this fight any more wrongly if he'd tried. Was he really afraid of defeating _Gokudera_ too easily, of injuring _his_ pride? Gokudera, who fights like this whole battle is one big game of chess, planning three, four steps ahead, effortlessly maneuvering Yamamoto into position for his attacks? Because he's a genius, after all, and why on earth did Yamamoto let himself forget that?

The genius in question has taken up position directly in front of Yamamoto again, still balanced atop that shield, but for once he's not attacking. Instead, he's simply hovering there, staring Yamamoto down with that ever-present glare of his, almost as if he's challenging him. He seems to be waiting for something.

And Yamamoto barks out a harsh laugh as realization hits him.

_Sorry, Gokudera_, he thinks with an apologetic grin as he climbs to his feet again. _I wasn't being fair to you_.

Still grinning, he takes the second box from his belt, brings it up to his Vongola Ring, and opens it.

There's a flash of blue light, and then Jirou is standing there, eager and alert, Yamamoto's three short blades at his side. He barks once, and Yamamoto scratches the dog's head fondly, then turns to look back at Gokudera again.

Gokudera eyes him for a few more seconds, then grunts, still looking annoyed but now almost satisfied as well.

"About time you actually started taking me seriously."

Yamamoto reaches down, takes one of the swords from Jirou's belt, and grins again. "Sorry about that. I won't hold back anymore."

And, activating the blade's rain flames, he rockets into the air.

Gokudera is ready, already bringing his cannon up to bear again, but Yamamoto is much faster now, and when the Storm Guardian aims and fires, Yamamoto ducks out of the way with ease. That is, until the single burst of cloud and rain flames suddenly propagates so that instead of one flame shooting toward him, there are now about fifty. Yamamoto can't help but be a little impressed; under normal circumstances, an attack like that would be almost impossible to dodge.

But these aren't just normal circumstances anymore, because Yamamoto has taken off the kid gloves now… and he's ready for round two.

_Shigure Souen Ryu… Fourth Defensive Form: May Wind, October Rain_.

He closes his eyes, letting the tranquility of the rain flames course through him, and focuses on Gokudera's breathing, letting his movements run in sync. He lets his short blades do the rest. Using short, powerful bursts of rain flames to propel him, he dodges left, right, up, and down, moving where his instincts tell him to move, picking up speed with each successive burst until the world is a blur around him.

And there is Gokudera. Moving seamlessly from the fourth form into the eighth, not letting any of his built-up momentum go to waste, Yamamoto charges forward and slices in a swift wide arc. _Eighth Offensive Form: Pouring Rain_.

Gokudera sees him coming and pulls his shields in to absorb the attack, but Yamamoto infuses the strike with rain flames, and the blow is strong enough to scatter the shields apart. Taking advantage of the opening, Yamamoto immediately strikes again; Gokudera swears and brings his skull-bound arm up to block. He winces on impact, and then, eyes widening in recognition, he brings his right arm up and punches his left with it. His hovering shield platform flies away from Yamamoto, putting several meters between them. As soon as there's a reasonable distance, Gokudera drops to a crouching position, breathing hard.

"You remembered, huh?" Yamamoto smiles lopsidedly.

In response, Gokudera glares with renewed spirit. "Son of a _bitch_…"

"Ha ha! Well, I did warn you—no more holding back."

"Fuck you." Taking a deep breath, Gokudera climbs unsteadily to his feet again, visibly trying to shake off the aftereffects of Yamamoto's attack. But Yamamoto knows from personal experience that it's not quite that easy—especially since his version of _Attacco di Squalo_ just happens to be even stronger than the original.

But all the same, if there's anything the last five minutes have taught him, it's not to underestimate his opponent. Time to wrap things up.

Kojirou soars in a circle, drenching the roof with still more flames until all Yamamoto can see around him is blue. Bringing his katana down in a powerful horizontal slash, Yamamoto parts the flames on either side of him. Kojirou descends and rockets toward Gokudera, and Yamamoto charges right behind him. _Shigure Souen Ryu… Special Tenth Form…_

He picks up speed, readying his sword for _Scontro di Rodine_. Gokudera is still standing right where he was a moment ago. It doesn't even look like he's trying to move.

Then he smirks. Yamamoto has exactly enough time to think, _Uh oh, that can't be a good sign…_

…and then the _entire roof_ explodes.

He dodges—some part of him still has the presence of mind to fire a counterblast of rain flames with his short blade, propelling him a few feet away from the main blast—but still catches the brunt of the explosion; there's just no escaping it. And as the impact tosses him like a rag doll, and adrenaline turns the baseline of his thoughts into one big exclamation point, he catches Gokudera out of the corner of his eye, his shields encasing him all around, and realizes in a burst of insight that this was what he had planned from the very start. He must have planted the bombs even before the fight began. He wasn't thinking just three or four steps ahead, but a dozen—the whole fight.

_The raging storm that never rests, constantly on the attack… ha ha, not bad_. Then he lands, and the impact steals the breath from his lungs, and for a few moments the world fades to a dull roar.

When he opens his eyes again, Gokudera is standing there, a little singed from the blast and still reeling a bit from the effects of _Attacco di Squalo_, but at least still on his feet, which is more than Yamamoto can say for himself. Yamamoto laughs, then stops short with a pained grunt. It feels like he may have bruised a few ribs… but, he thinks with a grin, it was probably worth it.

"You still alive?" Gokudera asks brusquely.

"Think so," Yamamoto replies, feeling the back of his head with a slight wince. "Although it doesn't quite feel that way, ha ha."

"Tch." Gokudera takes a step back, then after a moment's hesitation, offers Yamamoto a hand up. Yamamoto accepts it gratefully, climbing to his feet. Now that the adrenaline has had a few minutes to cool down, he's starting to really feel the aftereffects of the fight. He's pretty sore. Also a little embarrassed. Not because he lost—it was pretty close to a draw, after all—but because truth be told, he feels a bit like an idiot for having not given his all from the start.

"Heh, congratulations," he says, and means it sincerely.

Gokudera looks away for a moment, and makes an indifferent noise. "Tch. Well, maybe you'll think about this the next time you start getting a big head. I'm still the right hand man; don't ever forget that."

Yamamoto laughs. "I won't."

"…One more thing, idiot." Gokudera meets his eyes again, more sternly this time. "Don't ever try to hold back against me again. Got it?"

He laughs again. "Okay."

And since Gokudera told him to, after all, Yamamoto does stop holding himself back, and does the thing he's been wanting to do for a long time now.

He kisses him, because maybe Gokudera's right. Maybe he should have been going with his instincts all along.

…Then again, he thinks as the other boy's eyes widen before he pulls away and his fist collides rudely with Yamamoto's jaw, maybe not.

"_What the hell is wrong with you?!_"

Oh well.


End file.
